$99 Find Cheap Flights from Chicago to Carmel-by-the-Sea

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from Chicago to Carmel-by-the-Sea departing on 9/9. Fares are subject to change and may not be available on all flights or dates of travel. Click the price to replicate the search for this deal.
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Flight Deals

Cheap Flights from Chicago to Carmel-by-the-Sea (CHI-SFO)

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for round-trip flights from Chicago to Carmel-by-the-Sea that are departing in the next months. While these flights were available on KAYAK in the last 72 hours, prices and availability are subject to change and deals may expire.
Discover the best prices for you by selecting your travel dates on KAYAK.

Recent round-trip flight deals from Chicago to Carmel-by-the-Sea

Fri, Oct 10 - Fri, Oct 17
Frontier Logo
7:15 am - 12:24 pmORD-SFO
7h 09m1 stop
Frontier Logo
1:29 pm - 10:24 pmSFO-ORD
6h 55m1 stop
$197Frontier
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Sat, Sep 6 - Sat, Sep 13
Frontier Logo
8:25 am - 7:45 amORD-SFO
25h 20m1 stop
Frontier Logo
9:59 pm - 11:15 pmSFO-ORD
23h 16m1 stop
$198Frontier
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Fri, Sep 5 - Sat, Sep 6
Southwest Logo
5:25 am - 9:25 amMDW-SFO
6h 00m1 stop
Southwest Logo
9:55 am - 7:05 pmSFO-MDW
7h 10m1 stop
$199Southwest
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Thu, Oct 9 - Sun, Oct 12
Frontier Logo
7:15 am - 12:24 pmORD-SFO
7h 09m1 stop
Frontier Logo
1:29 pm - 10:24 pmSFO-ORD
6h 55m1 stop
$199Frontier
Find Deal
Tue, Oct 21 - Wed, Oct 22
Alaska Airlines Logo
8:20 am - 2:01 pmORD-SFO
7h 41m1 stop
Alaska Airlines Logo
10:26 am - 11:59 pmSFO-ORD
11h 33m1 stop
$204Alaska Airlines
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Sun, Aug 31 - Sat, Sep 6
United Airlines Logo
8:50 am - 11:43 amORD-SFO
4h 53mnonstop
United Airlines Logo
7:00 am - 1:32 pmSFO-ORD
4h 32mnonstop
$208United Airlines
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Sun, Aug 31 - Sat, Sep 6
American Airlines Logo
6:45 am - 9:15 amORD-SFO
4h 30mnonstop
American Airlines Logo
6:00 am - 12:18 pmSFO-ORD
4h 18mnonstop
$219American Airlines
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Sat, Sep 6 - Mon, Sep 15
American Airlines Logo
6:45 am - 9:24 amORD-SFO
4h 39mnonstop
American Airlines Logo
11:25 pm - 5:31 amSFO-ORD
4h 06mnonstop
$229American Airlines
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Wed, Sep 17 - Wed, Sep 24
United Airlines Logo
10:49 am - 1:35 pmORD-SFO
4h 46mnonstop
United Airlines Logo
11:10 pm - 5:23 amSFO-ORD
4h 13mnonstop
$231United Airlines
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Sat, Sep 6 - Mon, Sep 15
Southwest Logo
8:15 am - 10:50 amMDW-SFO
4h 35mnonstop
Southwest Logo
9:05 pm - 7:40 amSFO-MDW
8h 35m1 stop
$237Southwest
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Good to know

Low seasonJanuary
Cheapest flight$99
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 6% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 19% increase in price.
Flight from Chicago O'Hare Airport to San Francisco

When to book flights from Chicago to Carmel-by-the-Sea

Are your dates flexible? Find out the best times to travel from Chicago to Carmel-by-the-Sea based on our flight data from the last year. Discover the cheapest month and even day to fly.
Estimated round-trip price

FAQs for booking flights from Chicago to Carmel-by-the-Sea

  • Which airports will I be using when flying from Chicago to Carmel-by-the-Sea?

    When flying out of Chicago you’ll be using one of these airports: Chicago Midway or Chicago O'Hare Intl. Carmel-by-the-Sea does not have its own airport so you’ll be flying into nearby San Francisco airport, which is 78.0 mi away.

  • How long does a flight from Chicago to Carmel-by-the-Sea take?

    Direct flights cover the 1,855 miles separating Chicago and Carmel-by-the-Sea in about 4h 30m.

  • How many flights are there between Chicago and Carmel-by-the-Sea?

    104 direct flights run between Chicago and Carmel-by-the-Sea on a daily basis. On average, there are about 728 departures each week.

  • What’s the cheapest day of the week to fly between Chicago and Carmel-by-the-Sea?

    Consider leaving on a Friday and avoid Mondays if you are looking for the best rates. For your return to Chicago, you’ll find the best rates on Sundays and the most expensive ones on Fridays.

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from Chicago to Carmel-by-the-Sea?

    KAYAK is a travel search engine. That means we look across the web to find the best prices we can find for our users. With over 2 billion flight queries processed yearly, we are able to display a variety of prices and options on flights from Chicago to Carmel-by-the-Sea.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket from Chicago to Carmel-by-the-Sea?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight to Carmel-by-the-Sea from Chicago is likely to change within 7 days, so travelers know whether to wait or book now.

  • What is the Hacker Fare option on flights from Chicago to Carmel-by-the-Sea?

    Hacker Fares allow you to combine one-way tickets in order to save you money over a traditional round-trip ticket. You could then fly to Carmel-by-the-Sea with an airline and back to Chicago with another airline.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight from Chicago to Carmel-by-the-Sea?

    Sometimes travel dates aren't set in stone. If your preferred travel dates have some wiggle room, flexible dates will show you all the options when flying to Carmel-by-the-Sea from Chicago up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

  • Which airlines provide the cheapest flights from Chicago to Carmel-by-the-Sea?

    In the last 72 hours, the cheapest one-way ticket between Chicago and Carmel-by-the-Sea found on KAYAK was with Frontier for $99. Frontier offered a round-trip connection from $197 and Southwest from $199.

Top tips for finding cheap flights from Chicago to Carmel-by-the-Sea

  • There is no airport in Carmel-by-the-Sea. Instead, you’ll be flying into San Francisco Airport when flying between Chicago and Carmel-by-the-Sea.
  • The cheapest flight from Chicago to Carmel-by-the-Sea was found 83 days before departure, on average.
  • Book at least 2 weeks before departure in order to get a below-average price.
  • High season is considered to be November, December and January. The cheapest month to fly is July.

Reviews of the top 5 airlines serving Chicago to Carmel-by-the-Sea

 
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from Chicago to Carmel-by-the-Sea? KAYAK airline reviews give an overall score for each airline based on loads of factors, including comfort, boarding, in-flight entertainment and more, to make your decision easier. See airline scores according to verified KAYAK customer reviews.
8.0
Alaska AirlinesOverall score based on 10000 reviews
7.0Entertainment
8.1Boarding
7.8Comfort
7.1Food
8.5Crew
Airline reviews

Agent boarding us in San Diego lectured me on showing up on time for the flight, and said that if I had been three minutes later, he would have denied myself and my wife boarding. Our trusted traveler numbers were not in the system, even though I entered them when I bought the tickets. Our food orders were not in the system, even though I entered them prior to the flight. My wife requires a wheelchair, and that was delayed on both flights.

4.0 OkayAnonymous, Aug 2025SEA - SAN
Read more Alaska Airlines reviews

Agent boarding us in San Diego lectured me on showing up on time for the flight, and said that if I had been three minutes later, he would have denied myself and my wife boarding. Our trusted traveler numbers were not in the system, even though I entered them when I bought the tickets. Our food orders were not in the system, even though I entered them prior to the flight. My wife requires a wheelchair, and that was delayed on both flights.

It was fine—the seats are not very comfortable and the aisles are very narrow. Nothing different from other airlines

Unfortunately 4 hour 40 minute delay because of airport then one hour into flight diverted back to Kona elderly man on plane got heart attack trying to get home some how

Seats are so small now that it's very hard even for a medium-sized person to be comfortable!!!

My experience would’ve been great because we were on a new plane, but they said as we boarded that the plane would be too new to have WiFi, which to me is unreasonable - newer planes should def have WiFi! It was a 5 hour flight from Anchorage to San Fran and because there was no WiFi, I had to take an unexpected half day off work, which was super annoying because I had a lot to do and we only found out a few minutes before takeoff.

Such great crew, from checkin to the plane. So friendly and helpful, I was genuinely impressed.

Hawaiian Airlines, like most US-based ones, constantly provide sub-par service and pack their planes to the max with all kinds of last-minute-purchase schemes. As a result, it makes every flight so uncomfortable and generates high health risk for its passengers. In one word, GREED rules the day!

Well the flight being delayed multiple time really was frustrating. But the crew and flight was good.

Staff at Gate desk were helpful. My connecting flight from the first part of my trip Kona to Seattle was late. I had to run through SeaTac Seattle to catch my flight to San Jose. They made an exception to let me board. On my return trip San Jose to San Diego and San Diego to Honolulu the same thing happened. One flight arrived late and I had to run through the terminal to catch my connection. There are no Gluten-free & Vegan options meals and snacks to purchase.

generally good. No snacks or drinks on the flight 3379 from Portland to San Jose, CA. Sad.

Better and more food and drinks. Put msnbc and free speech tv on the news channel selection list.

Very smooth checking in our luggage with a super pleasant SW agent. I enjoyed a fun entertaining movie.

after landing, we stay 2 hours on the taxi way before reaching the gate The airline and the crew were good though

First time traveling on Southwest since bag fees were implemented. Usual good service. Just more expensive now.

I'm not a fan of Southwest's model. I don't like the herding style of boarding.

It was a perfect flight in all aspects! Both legs!

Boarding process, crew were good. But the seats were so uncomfortable that was all I could focus on. I literally had to sit forward so that all 3 of us could fit in row. I will try to avoid Southwest in the future for any flights over 60 minutes.

Great flight, 47 passengers on a 180 seat plane. Stewardess was pleasant and cheerful.

Great experience flying Southwest. The crew was really kind and helpful, and very friendly with our toddler.

My flight to Chicago left and landed early. My return flight left two minutes late and arrived 2 minutes late. My seat selections were ideal! There were no snacks going to Chicago and no snacks on the return trip. There are no charging outlets on board.

Once we got in the air the pilot made up some of the time of the delay. So that was really nice.

Excellent flight. Boarding was efficient and departure was on time. Smooth flight with on time arrival. Deplaning was also efficient.

It was delayed instead of departing at 9:20pm, we departed at 11pm… putting us in Columbus after 2am! It was awful. Had I known about the delay, I could have spent some time in the United Lounge… I was starving because I started my journey in Budapest… so I was exhausted and hungry. Plus I had to make new arrangements to be picked up at the airport in Columbus, instead of midnight it was 2:30 am after getting luggage and out of airport. Not feasible. I would have just stayed in Chicago for the night and gotten a morning flight.

It was great, I’m very grateful for the pilots and crew flight attendants for everything.

Evidently, my seat had the only broken TV. I couldn’t plug it in, get it to come on, or watch anything, and of course, no one could fix it while we were on the plane. The service was good and the boarding was quick

I was charged for my daughters bag when I am supposed to receive two free checked bags with my United Explorer card.

The schedule to Moline changed 5 times. The gate changed 6 times. That is a pathetic way to run an airline. No wonder that no one in our company flies on United Express to or from Moline. Changes happen most of the time. I learned my lesson on this trip…never again!

Flight was great. Efficient boarding. Short flight. Early arrival. Friendly flight crew. The entertainment system did not work well. Could not access it until the aircraft reached 10K feet or more. Lots of glitches.

A bit rush for transit. Food and entertainment are not available

Smooth boarding process. Early departure, smooth flight, early arrival. The entertainment package has very good recent movie options. The flight crew were friendly and professional.

3 hour weather delay followed by 1 hour (and counting) maintenance delay. UGH!

After we'd boarded , they canceled the flight. The crew didn't even know , we just all received text messages. Then after they deplaned us , AA was just like "too bad, go F your self, we sure ain't gonna help you"

After a two hour delay, my flight was CANCELLED! No pilot available. Such BS.

Amazing food, great staff, with one noticable detail missing ...but no seat entertainment in any of aircraft ...I am not a fan

I wish American Airlines would change the airline industry by loading the plane back to front instead of front to back. Planes would board so much more smoothly and quickly.

I have long legs, my foot was out in the aisle and when a flight attendant came walking by and I didn't notice, instead of saying "excuse me" or anything like that, she kicked my foot. Extremely rude

Excellent! The gate agents were kind enough to rebook me on an earlier flight saving me from a 6 hour layover. Even my luggage made it despite the fact that the connection was technically too narrow. The flight itself was very comfortable, roomy, and clean. Plenty of space for my carryon items with plugs to charge my phone. After a long international flight of 14 hours, this was an excellent way to end my travels!

Great experience. Flight boarded easily. Departed early. Smooth flight. Great arrival in DC--almost no taxing! Almost direct to gate from runway. Crew was terrific. Same cookies and beverages in main cabin. I did not use the entertainment system on this flight.

Most of the delay was due to weather which is not what was at issue here. One delay was due to a missing flashlight and in the end the flashlight was actually found on the plane. The entertainment system is very limited. Live TV options offer only a few channels that are not very appealing. Boarding and deplaning are always difficult. It just takes too much time to get on and off the plane. On the plus side, I missed my connecting flight, but was easily able to book a later flight from the app while enroute.

You were more on time than United. I'm so over united delays.

Great for the price. No wifi or entertainment, but gate agents and crew were fantastic and we boarded quickly and left on time.

sluggish boarding and arrival procedures, fake nice flight attendants, and lots of delays.

Disaster. They lied every step of the way. We ended up being delayed due to crew and then allegedly abandoned the flight because of a curfew at LGA. No rebooking to LGA at any reasonable time. No hotel. No meal vouchers. Had to sleep in the airport and fly to Newark instead. Will never fly Frontier again.

What I expected, nickeled and dined and a frontier flight attendant loudly complained about her job and lack of communication as she headed to the gate on her cell phone. Not professional.

As every law enforcement agency I could imagine surrounded the plane and we didn’t disembark for 2 hours and then had to stick around for another hour to go get our personal belongings after leaving them behind and being bused away from the plane, it was scary and inconvenient. We were given no information as to why this was happening. Lack of communication with passengers was disappointing.

After boarding and un-boarding twice over 6+hours, the flight was canceled.

Severe turbulence. Captain never came on to reassure passengers after things settled down.

My first flight was delayed 5 hours. The 2nd flight was canceled til the next day and the never even tried to compensate for it. Worse I was delayed again on the flight the rebooked me on.

Boarding in Orlando was not good. Giant mob at the gate, should have been lines.

Decent clean onboard experience. Okay discount airline experience. Unfortunately, any customer service interactions are difficult and unhelpful. There is no service. Also, a premium seat only gets you premium boarding if you line up first. Once they start general boarding you must go to the back of the line. Not very premium

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